CASSELL LIKELY A CELTIC: Guard Sam Cassell, cut by the Clippers last week, cleared waivers and planned to fly to Boston today to sign with the Celtics.

ROCKETS: Center Yao Ming had surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot and was recovering well, the team said. He can begin rehabilitation in about four months and hopes to play for the Chinese national team at the Olympics, which begin Aug. 8.

REPLAY SET: The league said new players are eligible for Saturday's do-over between the Hawks and Heat. They will complete 51.9 seconds of a Dec. 19 OT game, the first replay since Spurs-Lakers in 1982. Atlanta's stat crew mistakenly ruled that Shaquille O'Neal, then with Miami, fouled out.

WNBA: The Seattle Storm signed former league MVP Sheryl Swoopes, 36, who has been with the Houston Comets during the franchise's 11-year history. She had back surgery in September.